Las Vegas Season 2 Episode 22

Mr. Mertens: Time for a power nap and a Silkwood Shower.
Mike: Silkwood Shower?
Mr. Mertens: You know, a decontamination shower.

Mr. Mertens is referring to Karen Silkwood, a labor union activist and chemical worker who made plutonium rods and died under mysterious circumstances in 1974, possibly as a result of her blowing the whistle on unsafe manufacturing practices.

Mertens is specifically alluding to the radiation decontamination showers Silkwood, as well as other workers, were subjected to when their personal radiation count was too high. The process often stripped away multiple layers of skin and was, by all accounts, very painful.

The 1983 film, Silkwood, which starred Meryl Streep, details some of these events.